Sea Turtles: Dinosaurs of the Deep

A few months ago I visited Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Florida. There they have a sea turtle rehabilitation center where you can observe and learn about injured sea turtles. While I've always loved the ocean, I had never fully appreciated the beauty of the world beneath the surface.

Isn't she beautiful?

There's roughly 318 species of turtles on the Earth today (that's including turtles, tortoises, and terrapins). Of these many species the sea turtle is by far the most majestic, and also the most endangered.
Modern sea turtles arose about 120 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, making them the most primitive group of reptiles still alive today. They even survived the mass extinction of the Cretaceous-Paleogene which ended the lives of three quarters of the animal and plant life on Earth. This demonstrates the adaptability of these turtles because no other large tetrapods survived except crocodiles.

Sea turtles hatching and exiting the nest

Since sea turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean, not much information can be gathered about their lifestyle. Most of what we know comes from observing hatchlings and females that come to shore to lay their eggs. The nests are deep holes dug in the sand with the mother's back flippers where she will lay her clutch of eggs, containing between 70 and 190 eggs. After hatching the young will take up to a week to dig out of the sand. They emerge at night and make their way to the ocean by instinctual attraction towards the horizon. Few turtles survive to adulthood, but those that do remain solitary until it is time to mate.

Sea turtle injured by boat propeller

There are so many dangers for these beautiful creatures. The dangers begin as soon as they hatch when they immediately face predators of all kinds: dogs, birds, reptiles, fish, crabs, and more. Once in the ocean the dangers do not let up. Boat propellers can easily slice through a turtle's shell which is fused to its body for protection. A damaged shell can mean a plethora of issues for the turtle. Another threat for these turtles is litter. Fishing hooks can puncture them and fishing line may strangle them. Plastic bags look very similar to jelly fish which are a staple in the diet of marine turtles.

Me and my sister swimming with sea turtles after our visit to Gumbo Limbo

Sea turtles are beautiful and fascinating creatures and humans need to work to protect them and their habitats.